There were a number of positives to take from the game and with the promise of further additions to the squad and a fixture against West Ham to look forward, it has been a fantastic end to an eventful week!

Gary Johnson opted for a 4-4-2 formation for the visit of Crawley Town and whilst that allowed Carl Winchester to return to his favoured centre midfield position, Jordon Forster was the next player forced into an unfamiliar right back berth.

Read More

It has to be said, however, that Forster performed admirably throughout the afternoon, and thwarted any real threat down his side.

My opinion is that Johnson will need to address this position as soon as possible if he has any hope of flirting with the play-offs this season.

Gary Johnson celebrates the win

The first half, for me, never really got into any flow. Jon Flatt was only called upon to make a couple of routine stops and catches, whereas at the other end Mo Eisa was a real live wire- someone who knows where the goal is and comes to life, around the 18 yard box. We've missed that since Dan Holman was completely injury free, way back in the first half of 2016.

The game was crying was crying out for a goal, something to get the supporters off their seats, and on 38 minutes it came. A delicious ball from the right from Skipper Kyle Storer, who was enjoying a decent game, was expertly headed in by man of the moment- Eisa.

Mohamed Eisa scores and celebrates the opening goal against Crawley Town

The challenge now was for The Robins to protect this lead and look to produce a solid second half performance- something that had been lacking throughout pre-season- but they managed this and secured the three points without having to add to their tally.

With assured displays by Will Boyle and Jamie Grimes at centre half and Jordan Cranston on the left of them, Johnson will feel reasonably pleased how the defensive unit were able to see the game out comfortably.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

He will have a worry with the Jerell Sellars hamstring injury, as he offers something different, with pace and directness, but the bench is starting to look stronger and with those further additions, which have to be right for the club, the squad is getting there- slowly but surely.

I'm not sure how I feel about Harry Pell on the right hand side of a four man midfield. Pelly is capable of playing in a number of positions, but I would like to see him pulling the strings from the centre of the park and dictating the play.

Nigel Atangana

With Winchester, Storer and Atangana all looking for a starting place- perhaps it's a nice selection headache to have for the manager.

The referee may need to look at the re-run of this game and take a deep analytical view of his performance as from early in the second half onwards, he completely lost control of the match and looked way out of his depth.

I hope this isn't the standard of officiating we are to expect throughout the course of the season!

Read More

Finishing off with the attendance- the crowd of 2,834 was a huge disappointment, even with the fact that the game's ticket holders would be guaranteed a ticket for the West Ham match.

The club need everyone to pull together to reach it's maximum potential and with a player of Pell's calibre turning down a move to Blackpool to remain a Town player, there is real excitement in the air, with the season ready to take off...